Norwalk-based IMS Health, a leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, today reported annual U.S. prescription sales rose 1.3 percent in 2008, to $291 billion.
Dispensed prescription volume in the U.S. grew at a 0.9 percent pace, IMS Health said.
Factors influencing the market’s slower growth in 2008 included higher demand for less-expensive generic drugs, lower new product sales, and reduced consumer demand due to the economic turndown, the firm said.
Across the major therapy classes, lipid regulators were the most widely dispensed retail prescription medications on a volume basis in 2008, followed by codeine and combinations, anti-depressants, ACE inhibitors and beta blockers
In terms of overall prescription sales sold through both retail and non-retail channels, antipsychotics led all therapy classes followed by lipid regulators, proton pump inhibitors and seizure disorder medications.
